Sports

Girls Soccer: Cougars Celebrate Seniors with Win

Oakton High tallies winning district record with overtime victory over Westfield

In a battle fit for a Senior Night against rival Westfield, the Oakton High girls soccer team pulled out a 1-0 overtime win for their last game of the regular season Monday.

The win puts the Cougars (3-2) third in the Concorde District standings, giving them home field advantage in their first round district tournament matchup against Herndon on Monday.

After both teams remained scoreless at the end of regulation, senior Danielle Fitzgerald netted the only goal of the game on an assist from junior Alyssa Morgan with less than 30 seconds left in the first overtime. (See a video of the goal to the right of this article.)

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"I thought the first half we played better than them, but in the second half they came back and were dominant and we were on our toes the whole second half," said senior goalkeeper Alex Weaver, who had an impressive 18 saves to keep the Bulldogs scoreless. "Our defense was on top of their game. I mean, we couldn't finish in the first and second half, but one goal will do it, so I'm proud of us."

Before the game, the team honored its 14 seniors with a pregame ceremony. Each senior was escorted onto the field by their families, and underclassmen presented the seniors with flowers and a gift.

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"All of us are really goofy together, but we care so much. We're close on and off the field. I really consider us a family," Weaver said. "This game meant a lot to us, and we were playing for each other tonight. We played great, and it's a night I will never forget."

Of the 14 seniors, eight have played varsity since their freshman year when the squad advanced to the first round of the Virginia High School League tournament. 

At the beginning of the season, the Cougars had big goals to not only hold onto the Concorde District title they earned last year but to advance much farther than the second round of the Northern Region tournament, where they fell to Woodson last year.

"This class of girls fell short in states our freshmen year, and we've been building up ever since. I think this is finally our year," Weaver said. "Every team wants to win, but I think we have the heart and the passion that some other teams don't."


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